High side sill railway hopper car

ABSTRACT

In a center sill-less railroad hopper car, a pair of opposed end portions and a central hopper portion having opposed slope sheets, each end portion having a stub center sill mounted to the underside of a flat horizontal shear plate and a bolster web beam mounted on the shear plate and attached to the respective slope sheet, and corner post means spaced outwardly of the bolster means, bolster post means in lateral alignment with the bolster web beam and inner side post means spaced inwardly of the bolster post means, side girder means connecting with the inner post means, the bolster post means and the corner post means, a high side sill extending the length of the central portion of the car and into the end portions and connecting with each respective inner post means and bolster post means, and skirt means depending from each outer end construction and having a stub side sill connecting with the lower inner portion of the skirt means and extending outwardly and connecting with the inner post means, the bolster post means and the corner post means for transmitting draft and buff forces into the bolster post means and the inner post means.

United States Patent [1 1 Przyblinslri et a1.

[ Nov.6,1973

1 1 HIGH SIDE SILL RAILWAY HOPPER CAR [75] Inventors: Phillip G. Przyblinski, Schererville,

lnd.; Joe B. Raidt, Calumet City, 111.

[73] Assignee: Pullman Incorporated, Chicago, 111.

[22] Filed: Sept. 15, 1971 [21] Appl. N0.: 180,600

[52] U.S. Cl 105/248, 105/360, 105/406 R, 105/418, 105/420, 105/421 [51] Int. Cl B6ld 5/00, B6ld 7/00, B6ld 17/06 [58] Field of Search 105/247, 248, 249, 105/250, 406 R, 360, 418, 420, 421

Primary Examiner-Robert Sheridan I Assistant Exa minerHoward Beltran Attorney-Hilmond O. Vogel etal.

[57] ABSTRACT In a center sill-less railroad hopper car, a pair of opposed end portions and a central hopper portion having opposed slope sheets, each end portion having a stub center sill mounted to the underside ofa flat horizontal shear plate and a bolster web beam mounted on the shear plate and attached to the respective slope sheet, and corner post means spaced outwardly of the bolster means, bolster post means in lateral alignment with the bolster web beam and inner side post means spaced inwardly of the bolster post means, side girder means connecting with the inner post means, the bolster post means and the corner post means, a high side sill extending the length of the central portion of the car and into the end portions and connecting with each respective inner post means and bolster post means, and skirt means depending from each outer end construction and having a stub side sill connecting with the lower inner portion of the skirt means and extending outwardly and connecting with the inner post means, the bolster post means and the corner post means for transmitting draft and buff forces into the bolster post means and the inner post means.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDNBY m sum 1 or 2 PAIENTEU 5 I975 SHEU 2 OF 2 1 HIGH SIDE SILL RAILWAY HOPPER CAR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention 1 The field of art to which the invention pertains is the railroad freight car art and, in particularthe railroad hopper car construction.

2. Description of the Prior Art 7 It is known in the prior art to provide for a high side girder construction by the use of a side skirt design for the hopper car as, for instance, shown in co-pending U. S. patent application Ser. No. 787,942 filed Dec. 30, 1968 to Kent N; Johnson and issuing into 0. 5. Pat. No. 3,605,634 on Sept. 20, 1971. However, it is desirable to place the skirt design such that there is a more favorable loading on the car structure thereby resulting in a greater structural efficiency and providing for a longer life for the end constructions of the hopper car.-

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide for a center sill-less railroad car construction wherein each end beaming structure of the car may be attached the the central portion of the car in which each end construction comprises a stub center sill upon which is mounted a shear plate beam and a bolster web beam for beaming the loads into the side of the car, the shear plate beam having attached to each of its sides side skirt means attached to the side sills of the car between the bolster post means and the post means inwardly of the bolster post means for transferring impact loads on the stub sill into the bolster side post and side girders of the car. The real benefit resulting is that there is a more judicious placement of the skirt to allow for a more favorable loading on the car structure, thereby resulting in a greater structural efficiency. The location of the skirt between the bolster post means in lateral alignment with the bolsterweb beam of each end construction and the first side post that is' inward of the bolster post provides for dumping loads or forces into the bolster posts due to the couple force effect produced by the skirt rather than to have the forces put into the corner post. Further, there is more depth to the side girders at the bolster than there is at the corner posts due to the development of the slope sheet and, therefore, it is beneficial to locate the skirt between the bolster arid the side post just inwardly of the bolster post.

These and other objects, purposes and advantages of the invention will become apparent from reference to the following description, attached drawings and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the end portion of arailroad hopper car of the center sill-ness type;

FIG. 1a is a'side elevational view of a complete hopper car of the aforesaid'type;

FIG. 2 is a partial side elevational view of the end of the hopper car; and

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the hopper car.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference nowto the drawings, there is shown a railroad hopper car of the general type shown in copending U. S. patent application of Kent N. Johnson,

Ser. No. 787,942 filed Dec. 30, 1968 issued into U. S.

Pat. No. 3,605,634 on Sept. 20, 1971, which copending patent application is incorporated herein by reference. The following embodiment, however, is directed to a high side sill car provided with side skirt means which extend between the post means in lateral alignment with the bolster web beam at each end of the car to the next inner post means for transmitting buff and draft forces into the side girders of the center sillless car in the area of the bolster as will be understood by reading the following description.

The center sill-less railroad hopper car 2 has end portions 3 and central portion 3a, a top or roof 4, and sides 5, the center hopper portion being defined by hoppers 6. The roof 4 is provided with roof sheeting 7 and each side 5 is provided with side sheeting 8 which spans vertically between the side plate 9 and the lower side sill 10 on each side 5 of the car 2. The side plate 9, side sill 10, the sheeting 8 and the side posts 11 which extend between and are connected to each side sill l0 and side plate 9 on one side of the car constitute a girder. One side post is designated as a side post 12 which is in lateral alignment with the bolster web beam 13 at each end of the car and on each side of the car. Each bolster web beam 13 stands and is connected to each longitudinally extending side sill and is fixedly mounted by welding on the horizontal end shear plate beam 14 mounted over a respective stub center sill 15 by welding. Each bolster web beam 13 at each end of the car extends transversely and upwardly to the downwardly inwardly sloping transversely extending hopper slope sheet 17. The respective slope sheet 17 is attached to its respective bolster web beam by the angle portion 16 of the bolster web beam. The bottom of the bolster web beam is attached to the shear plate beam 14 by the angle plate 16a. A pair of corner posts 19 are located at each end of the car and extend upwardly from their attachment to the respective shear plate beam 14 and end beam 20 upwardly to the side plates 9 and the roof sheeting 7. The lower edge 8a of each side sheet lies and terminates in the same plane as the respective slope sheet 17 to which it is attached and this edge 8a continues down and joins with side sheet edge 8b which extends ve'rticallydown to the side sill 10 to which it is attached. The end 3 has its vertically extending transverse sheet section 7a connecting with the corner posts 19. The shear plate beam is welded to the stub center sill 15 at each end of the car. Upright reinforcing angle members or gussets 15a connect the end beam 20 with the center sill 15. Each slope sheet 17 at each end of the car has its upper outer end portions merging with the upper outer end sheeting 7a attached to the roof sheeting 7. The corner posts 19 are L-shaped structural members which are also attached to the respective side sheeting and the side plate, 9. It will be seen that the upper end of thelower edge 8a of the sheet connects to the corner posts 19. The shear plate beam 14 extends from its connection with the bolster web beam 13 outwardly to the end of the car and laterally toward and underneath the side sills 10 where it is attached by welding to the skirt and stub side sill structure 21 to be described in detail below. The lower end beam 20 comprises a generally upright web portion 20a and a horizontally inwardly turned flange portion 20b. Located underneath the side post 12 and the bolster web beam 13 and connected tothe stub center sill 15 at each end of the car is the conventional vehicle or body bolster having the usual bolster side bearing structure 15b.

The shear plate beam 14 extends inwardly toward and is spaced away from the slope sheet 17 to define an open box arrangement with the bolster web beam 13 and the slope sheet 17. Thus there is no torque box arrangement and the loads, as in buff, are transmitted to the side skirt and stub side sill structure 21 at each end of the car into the sides of the car from the center sill by means of the two-beam construction of the end beam 20 and the bolster web beam 13 and the connection of each of these beams 20 and 13 to the shear plate beam. As referred to in the aforementioned patent, there is a sharing of flanges between the end beam 20 and the shear plate beam 14 and between the shear plate beam 14 and the bolster web beam 13. The bending stresses at the beams 13, 14 and 20 act as a unit under the longitudinal impact loads to produce a more efficient structure when interconnected than it would be if these three beams were not interconnected, as these beams share common flanges. The side skirt and stub side sill structure 21 extend down from the respective side sills 10 and are connected to the shear plate beams 14 and corner posts 19. Each side skirt and stub side sill structure comprises a skirt arrangement 21a and a stub side sill 21b, the inner end of which forms the lower part of the side skirt structure and the outer end of which connects with the corner posts on each side of the car and at each end of the car. The side skirt structure is provided with a pair of longitudinally spaced upright lower hat-shaped stiffeners 21c and 21d. Side skirt sheeting 21g extends from the side sill l and between the upright stub posts 21c and 21d which are directly underneath the outer side post 11 inwardly of the side post 12 at the bolster and the side post 12 and the inner portion 21e of the stub side sill 21b. The outer portion 21 f of the stub side sill 21b extends between the outer upright stub post 21d and the respective comer post 19. There is open space, therefore, between the side sheet edge 8b, the lower edge 8a, the corner post 19 and the outer extension 2lfof the stub side sill 21b on each side and at each end of the car. By this arrangement the loads introduced into the stub center sill 15 and then into the shear plate beam 14 are then transmitted into the attached outer stub side sill portions 21f and then into the skirt arrangement 21a with consequent dumping of the loads into the side posts at the bolster web beam and the side post just inward of the boslter web beam. It will be noted that the side sill being above the shear plate is a high side sill design so that the corner post and side experiences loading due to the lower end beam and due to the high side sill arrangement. The real benefits of this design are such that this more judicious placement of the skirt between the side posts at the bolster web beam and the next inner side post allows a more favorable loading on the car structure; thereby resulting in a greater structural efficiency with the dumping of loads into the bolster where the loads are easier taken than at the corner posts. The movment of the skirt backward or inward one post location eliminates undesirable forces created by the skirt arrangement and the side girder is, therefore, more capable of handling the forces or loads, that is, at this point the side girder is deeper than it is at the corner post area. The arrangement thus results in using less material which is a weight saving advantage and this permits the carrying of greater payloads.

The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a center sill-less railroad hopper car, a pair of opposed end portions and a central portion and side girders including side sills connecting with the end portions, each end portion comprising:

a stub center sill,

a flat horizontal shear plate beam mounted on the stub center sill below the side sills,

an upright bolster web beam mounted over a vehicle bolster and on the shear plate beam intermediate its ends,

said side sills each including a high side sill on each side of the car and extending through the central portion and into the end portions and spaced above the respective shear plate beams,

each high side sill terminating substantially in the plane of the bolster web beam,

each side at each end portion of the car having a first side post lying generally in the plane of the bolster web beam and a second side post spaced inwardly of said first side post and a corner post outwardly of the first side post at each end of the car,

side skirt means depending from each end of a high side sill and being between and being connected with said first and second side posts and depending therefrom,

a stub side sill on each side of the car and in each end portion outwardly of the skirt means and connecting with a respective skirt means and with a respective shear plate beam and with a respective corner post, the lower end of the skirt means being in general horizontal alignment with the stub side sill.

2. The invention according to claim 1, and

said side skirt means including a pair of laterally spaced first and second upright reinforcing stub posts,

said first stub post being under said first side post and connecting with the underside of said high side sill and said second stub side post being under said second side post and connecting with said high side sill,

sheet means being between the stub posts and connecting therewith and with the high side sill.

3. The invention according to claim 2, and

said skirt means having a lower side sill portion spaced below said high side sill and connecting with the lower portions of said stub side posts and with said stub side sill.

4. The invention according to claim I, and

said central portion including hopper means having opposed slope sheets connecting with the side girders, and

said bolster web beam being attached with the respective slope sheet of the central portion.

5. The invention according to claim 4, and

each side girder having terminal sheet sections at its opposed ends in the area of the end portions,

each terminal sheet section including an upper portion having a lower edge lying in the plane of the slope sheet and a lower portion having a vertical terminal edge substantially adjacent the plane of 6 the bolster web beam to define with the stub side skirt means and into the side girders of the car sill and the corner post an open area. above the side skirt means.

6. The invention according to claim 5, and said vertical terminal edge extending rearwardly of said first side post and the plane of said bolster web 5 8. The invention according to claim 1, and said skirt means comprising stub side posts in alignment with said first and second side posts and a side -F; according to claim 1 and sheet therebetween and spaced thereunder and an end beam mounted on the outer end of the Shear said stub side sill extending from said corner post plate b d connecting i Said Side Skirt and connecting with the underside of said sheet means for providing additional beaming of the im- 10 and defining the lower portion of said skirt means. pact loads from the stub center sill into the side 

1. In a center sill-less railroad hopper car, a pair of opposed end portions and a central portion and side girders including side sills connecting with the end portions, each end portion comprising: a stub center sill, a flat horizontal shear plate beam mounted on the stub center sill below the side sills, an upright bolster web beam mounted over a vehicle bolster and on the shear plate beam intermediate its ends, said side sills each including a high side sill on each side of the car and extending through the central portion and into the end portions and spaced above the respective shear plate beams, each high side sill terminating substantially in the plane of the bolster web beam, each side at each end portion of the car having a first side post lying generally in the plane of the bolster web beam and a second side post spaced inwardly of said first side post and a corner post outwardly of the first side post at each end of the car, side skirt means depending from each end of a high side sill and being between and being connected with said first and second side posts and depending therefrom, a stub side sill on each side of the car and in each end portion outwardly of the skirt means and connecting with a respective skirt means and with a respective shear plate beam and with a respective corner post, the lower end of the skirt means being in general horizontal alignment with the stub side sill.
 2. The invention according to claim 1, and said side skirt means including a pair of laterally spaced first and second upright reinforcing stub posts, said first stub post being under said first side post and connecting with the underside of said high side sill and said second stub side post being under said second side post and connecting with said high side sill, sheet means being between the stub posts and connecting therewith and with the high side sill.
 3. The invention according to claim 2, and said skirt means having a lower side sill portion spaced below said high side sill and connecting with the lower portions of said stub side posts and with said stub side sill.
 4. The invention according to claim 1, and said central portion including hopper means having opposed slope sheets connecting with the side girders, and said bolster web beam being attached with the respective slope sheet of the central portion.
 5. The invention according to claim 4, and each side girder having terminal sheet sections at its opposed ends in the area of the end portions, each terminal sheet section including an upper portion having a lower edge lying in the plane of the slope sheet and a lower portion having a vertical terminal edge substantially adjacent the plane of the bolster web beam to define with the stub side sill and the corner post an open area.
 6. The invention according to claim 5, and said vertical terminal edge extending rearwardly of said first side post and the plane of said bolster web beam.
 7. The invention according to claim 1, and an end beam mounted on the outer end of the shear plate beam and connecting with said side skirt meaNs for providing additional beaming of the impact loads from the stub center sill into the side skirt means and into the side girders of the car above the side skirt means.
 8. The invention according to claim 1, and said skirt means comprising stub side posts in alignment with said first and second side posts and a side sheet therebetween and spaced thereunder and said stub side sill extending from said corner post and connecting with the underside of said sheet and defining the lower portion of said skirt means. 